Miami Dade College is Recognized Again by The Chronicle of Higher Education with the “Great Colleges to Work For” Distinction, Making the Honor Roll Category

For the third year in a row, MDC joins Georgia Tech, USC, Notre Dame, Duke and other prestigious institutions on list of colleges recognized

Miami, July 25, 2011 -
Miami Dade College (MDC) is once again one of the nation’s best colleges to work for, according to a new survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education. For the third year in a row, the major publication has announced that MDC has been selected for its Great Colleges to Work For program. The publication also placed MDC on its Honor Roll for being cited most often across all of the recognition categories. It is the second time in three years that MDC makes the Honor Roll. Nearly 44,000 college employees and more than 310 institutions nationwide participated in the application process.

MDC was highly recognized in all four of the major categories reviewed: Leadership, Careers, Compensation and The Workplace. It received accolades for Collaborative Governance; Professional/Career Development Programs; Job Satisfaction; Supervisor/Department Chair Relationship; Respect and Appreciation; and Diversity.

“It is our faculty and staff who truly make MDC a great college to work for,’” said Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón, president of Miami Dade College. “Especially during a time when many challenges continue at colleges and universities, it is heartening to receive this distinction.”

This program is higher education's version of the popular Fortune magazine survey, with one key difference: It does not rank institutions in one big list. Instead, the program recognizes select groups of colleges for specific best practices and policies, such as tenure clarity, collaborative governance, work/life balance, teaching environment, security, compensation and benefits, and others. The program results, including recognized institutions, are being published in The Chronicle's Academic Supplement in July 2011.

To administer the survey and analyze the results, The Chronicle turned to ModernThink LLC, a strategic human capital consulting firm that has conducted numerous “Best Places to Work” programs, surveying hundreds of thousands of employees nationwide. The Great Colleges survey included a two-part assessment process: a survey administered to faculty, administrators, and professional support staff (the ModernThink Higher Education Insight Survey) and an institutional audit that captured demographics and workplace policies and practices from each institution. The primary factor in deciding whether an institution received Great College to Work For recognition was the employee feedback.

The program is also designed to help colleges improve as workplaces through the individual reports they receive, so The Chronicle names only those institutions that have scored well enough to be recognized in any category. There was no cost to participate and the program was open to all non-profit higher education institutions.

Miami Dade College, the nation’s largest institution of higher education and one of the most respected, has received numerous national awards and distinctions throughout its history including the first-ever Theodore M. Hesburgh award from the American Council on Education and TIAA-CREF for faculty development and the Savior of our Cities award twice from the New England Board of Higher Education where it was recognized alongside several Ivy League institutions and other top universities. In addition to The Chronicle of Higher Education, it has also received major awards and recognitions from other important publications including Newsweek, Time magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Miami Today, Hispanic Magazine, and Computerworld, to name a few. Its president, faculty and staff have also been the winners of many important national individual awards. A tribute to MDC’s excellence, three U.S. Presidents have spoken at the college’s commencement ceremonies since 2007.

About The Chronicle of Higher EducationThe Chronicle of Higher Education provides the academic community with an independent, global hub for news, sophisticated analysis, opinion, and engagement. Each week -- in print, online at http://chronicle.com, and on the iPad -- The Chronicle is read by more college and university faculty members and administrators than any other source in higher education. The Chronicle has been published since 1966 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with an editorial staff of more than 75 reporters, editors, visual artists, and Web producers, plus 15 correspondents stationed around the world. Already in 2011, The Chronicle has been nominated for two National Magazine Awards for Digital Media and won a record seven prizes from the Education Writers Association.

About ModernThink LLC
As a research and consulting leader in workplace issues, ModernThink has supported a wide variety of “Best Place to Work” initiatives. Through these programs, the firm has gained substantial survey and industry expertise, including specific insight into higher education. ModernThink knows what it takes to build a great place to work and shares that know-how with its clients. The ModernThink team of organizational development experts is dedicated to helping colleges follow through and capitalize on feedback from employees and benchmark data from peers to drive meaningful change at their institutions. Learn more at http://www.modernthink.com.

Miami Dade College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate and baccalaureate degrees.
Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Miami Dade College.
Miami Dade College is an equal access/equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, marital status, age, religion, national origin,
disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, or genetic information. Contact the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs/ADA Coordinator, at 305.237.2577 for information.